In every business relationship there is the potential for conflict over contractual agreements or business operations. When such conflicts arise, there is no need to incur the onerous expense and delays involved in traditional litigation. There are readily available alternative dispute resolution procedures that will enable you to resolve your disputes relatively quickly, fairly and cost-effectively.

Resolving international disputes demands special skills, experience and cultural sensitivity. That’s why thousands of attorneys and their clients turn to JAMS. We are a recognized leader in cross-border mediations and arbitrations, with resources wherever you or your clients do business.

Colleges and universities need to manage, resolve and prevent conflict. As a worldwide leader in dispute resolution, JAMS is singularly qualified to provide a comprehensive range of unique and effective solutions for problems facing students, faculty and administration.

The JAMS ADR blog serves to engage our clients, the legal community and the public in a discussion about alternative dispute resolution. As leaders in mediation, arbitration and more, we strive to remain at the forefront of legal developments, trends and news in areas of law that pertain to ADR.

International commercial arbitration is one of the fastest-growing practices at JAMS. With industry leading rules, JAMS is praised for a highly experienced panel with specialties in many key areas, multilingual case management capabilities, and unparalleled service. JAMS specializes in the resolution of international disputes and is one of the largest providers of commercial arbitration in the world.

JAMS ADR Blog

ADR is on the Rise in Employment Cases

While there is a long history of utilizing arbitration in the labor union context, the majority of employment disputes have historically been litigated in federal court. Federal courts tend to be more formal than state courts, requiring full legal briefing on all motions and involving judges appointed by the President of the United States with tenure for life and extraordinarily bright law clerks to assist them. As a general rule, it is more expensive to litigate cases in federal court than state court, and the most expensive cases to litigate are class actions. The employment law area has long been fertile ground for class actions. Also, in recent years, collective Fair Labor Standards Act overtime cases have been quite active in federal courts throughout the country.

Large employers apparently have tired of the expense and perhaps the dissatisfying results arising from court actions. Accordingly, many have started including binding arbitration clauses as well as class action waivers in their employment agreements. In fact, the percentage of companies using arbitration clauses to preclude class action claims soared to 43 percent in 2014 from 16 percent in 2012, according to a survey of nearly 350 companies conducted by management-side law firm Carlton Fields Jorden Burt LLP. That same survey found that the percentage of class action lawsuits that address employment issues slipped to 23 percent in 2014 from 28 percent in 2011 and that class action suits from workers cost employers $462.8 million in 2014, down from $598.9 million in 2011.

Courts historically have been supportive of binding arbitration clauses. Legal claims in certain industries, such as securities claims by investors against broker dealers, have been resolved through binding arbitration for decades. It now appears that employment disputes are moving in that direction. In 2011, in the case of AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld class action waivers entered by customers of AT&T. The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear cases applying the logic of the Concepcion case to class action waivers in the employment context. Nevertheless, while the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that class action waivers violate the National Labor Relations Act, the trend among the lower courts is to uphold class-action waivers and to uphold traditional arbitration clauses. (See, e.g., Jasso v. Money Mart Express Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2012) and Morvant v. P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2012).)

This page is for general information purposes. JAMS makes no representations or warranties regarding its accuracy or completeness. Interested persons should conduct their own research regarding information on this website before deciding to use JAMS, including investigation and research of JAMS neutrals. See More

Other Articles by Author(s)

RECENT POSTS

Categories

Archives

JAMS NEWSLETTERS

ABOUT OUR BLOG

The JAMS ADR blog serves to engage our clients, the legal community and the public in a discussion about alternative dispute resolution. As leaders in mediation, arbitration and more, we strive to remain at the forefront of legal developments, trends and news in areas of law that pertain to ADR.

Welcome to the JAMS ADR blog. We hope you find it informative, interesting and we hope you visit again soon.

Sign up for email alerts

This website is not a solicitation for business. All content on the JAMS website is intended to provide general information about JAMS and an opportunity for interested persons to contact JAMS. The content of this website is not offered as legal advice or legal opinion and it should not be relied upon for any specific situation. JAMS neutrals are not engaged in the practice of law and no attorney client relationship is intended. This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a complete description of JAMS services. While JAMS endeavors to keep the information updated and correct, JAMS makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in this website. See More